Microsoft Corp. today issued the following statement in support of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) anti-piracy enforcement actions taken against distributors of modification chips designed to circumvent copyright protection on popular game consoles, including the Xbox® and Xbox 360™ game consoles:

"Microsoft applauds ICE for its effort to reduce piracy and protect the intellectual property of Microsoft and its industry partners. This is an important step in the continuing fight against piracy and the threat it presents to the global economy and consumers throughout the world."

The ESA press release:

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today commended U.S. law enforcement agents and prosecutors' work in undertaking the nation's first and largest anti-piracy raid of its kind. The action, code-named "Operation Tangled Web," targeted retailers selling modification chips through the Internet for the Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony game console systems. Law enforcement executed 32 search warrants in more than 20 localities across the country within a 24-hour period.

"Plain and simple, selling and distributing products to illegally bypass game consoles' piracy protections is a crime with real-life consequences. This is not a game; we're talking jail time. Enforcement initiatives of this scope send a clear message to both the public and pirate community that this illegal activity will not be tolerated," said Michael D. Gallagher, president of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. "We commend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the participating U.S. Attorneys' offices for targeting individuals and groups selling 'mod-chips' and pirated game software."

Modification chips or "mod-chips" are typically installed in video game console systems to circumvent the technological protection measures and enable the user to play pirated game software. These chips, as well as other circumvention devices, are illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

"As an industry, we protect our intellectual property, encourage our government to crack down on those who break the law, and urge other governments to take similar action against video game pirates. Yearly worldwide piracy costs total over $3 billion and it impinges on businesses and employees who create, develop, and distribute innovative products," said Gallagher. "The ESA will work with federal law enforcement to ensure that those engaged in the illegal trade of circumvention devices are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

The Nintendo Press Release:

Today U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents executed 32 federal search warrants in 16 states as part of an investigation into the alleged sale and distribution of illegal modification chips for various video game consoles, including Nintendo's Wii™ home video game system. The mod chips designed for the Wii console circumvent the security embedded in the hardware and allow users to play counterfeit Wii software.

This Immigrations and Customs Enforcement investigation represents the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting video game piracy. Nintendo has worked closely with this branch of the Department of Homeland Security, and fully supports its actions and other investigations currently underway.

"Nintendo and its developers and publishers lost an estimated $762 million in sales in 2006 due to piracy of its products," said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America's senior director of anti-piracy. "Nintendo's anti-piracy team works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to seize mod chips and counterfeit software. Since April, Nintendo has seized more than 91,000 counterfeit Wii discs globally."

That's sad that Nintendos Anal-ists are soooo bad at math that they think that those counterfeit discs and/or mod chips would have been direct sales anyway.... Maybe 5% of that figure quoted is realistic.

I've noticed that Anal-ists tend to not live in the real world with everyone else.

It's a sad day for the USA. I hope the best for anyone affected by this!

On a side note, I'm guessing overseas companies will start offering discreet shipping services to the USA. Wouldn't it be awesome if a software exploit was discovered soon? If only life was that ironic!

How do modchips fall in to play if someone wanted to use them for Import games as it is a very big selling point for a certain white Nintendo console chip.

If i had a friend who likes games from japan, is he all the sudden a criminal for playing them in the USA using a modchip?

The majority of Wii mod chips don't affect region play, the disc itself has to be patched to change the region. So other than those that patch on the fly, the mod chip won't play your legit NTSC-J games. Either patching method doesn't work 100% of the time, with many Japanese games remaining unplayable.

US games have the least of problems with being patched, making the mod chips a great help for the PAL market of course.

I'm not a genius by any means but let me understand this. They went after 32 sellers? 32, seems a bit small, and if you ask me I'd say it's quite insignificant. So what did we all learn over this? Well we seem to only be able to come up with completely software only modifications that are coded in simple C that a person can distribute the the directions on how to code it over HAM radio. I don't hear any objections to that?

Or, maybe a console maker, I'm looking at you Nintendo, maybe just maybe, might allow people to actually tinker with MY hardware. As seeing that I bought it, not you, or a bought a lease on it, or purchased it under the premonition that I cannot use what I purchased the way I see fit, but I used my money that I saved instead of spending my money on a PC, that I CAN USE.

But hey, I like being treated like a child. Pardon me while I get back to staring at advertisements and accepting the world the way that others want it. You know, I might go on a rant over religion, but I think you get my drift thus far.

Interests:medicine, engineering, Jeeps, technology, automobiles, and just about everything...

Xbox Version:v1.4

360 version:v1 (xenon)

Posted 02 August 2007 - 04:43 AM

QUOTE(DMAddict @ Aug 1 2007, 11:02 PM)

If they were so innovative, then people wouldn't have to circumvent them to run homebrew apps like XBMC on them.

well said...i love my xbmc and do agree that piracy is bad so the wii and 360 chips obviously have no other current use than piracy, unlike the xbox chips that can be used for linux or homebrew...

i hope that most that will be charged in this raid were actually participating in illegal activity like selling pirated software - that makes me mad that someone would blatantly (and directly) profit off stealing someone else's work. i have a feeling though, that some who technically weren't doing illegal things will just get tossed in the mix and suffer with the others...

ooooooooooohhh were scared... This isn't going to stop people that want to get them.It sounds like its time for industrious Americans to start setting up puppet companies in Canada and Mexico.These people (ESA, Nin) aren't as smart as they let on to be when it comes to raiding companies. These places didn't even try to hide anything. Shit, look at the war on drugs... a joke. I don't see mexico cracking down on mod chip resellers, or for that matter, cocaine resellers either.